Sēlpils Castle ( lv, Sēlpils pils; la, Castrum Selonum) is an ancient castle in Sēlpils Parish,

Jēkabpils Municipality Jēkabpils Municipality ( lv, Jēkabpils novads) is a municipality in Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Ābeļi Parish, Dignāja Parish, Dunava Parish, Kalna Parish, Leimaņi Parish, Rubene Parish and Zasa Parish. Dur ...

in the Selonia region of Latvia.

History

It was built in place of the ancient Sēlpils hillfort ( lv, Sēlpils pilskalns), a military and political center of ancient Selonia, a land of the

Balts The Balts or Baltic peoples ( lt, baltai, lv, balti) are an ethno-linguistic group of peoples who speak the Baltic languages of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. One of the features of Baltic languages is the number ...

. When the Livonian Order entered the land, they built a stone castle known as Selburg in German. Today, the village of Vecsēlpils ("old Sēlpils") is located nearby. The ruins of the hillfort were on the left bank of

Daugava , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic ...

near Vecsēlpils. After the construction of Pļaviņas Hydroelectric Power Station and reservoir, the ruins are on an island.

Archeological findings

Archaeological evidence shows that Sēlpils, 17 km northwest of modern

Jēkabpils Jēkabpils (; german: Jakobstadt; pl, Jakubów) is a state city in Jēkabpils Municipality in southeastern Latvia roughly halfway between Riga and Daugavpils and spanning the Daugava River. Historic Jēkabpils lies on the left bank, in Selonia ...

, was a major settlement between the 10th and 13th centuries. Used as a base for raids by the Selonians and their Lithuanian allies into Latgalian and Livonian lands, Sēlpils was first mentioned in the

Chronicle of Henry of Livonia The ''Livonian Chronicle of Henry'' ( la, Heinrici Cronicon Lyvoniae) offers a Latin narrative of events in Livonia (roughly corresponding to today's inland Estonia and the northern part of Latvia) and surrounding areas from 1180 to 1227. It was ...

, which describes its capture by the Livonian Order and their

Christianized Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

ethnic Livonian allies in 1208. Sēlpils was briefly the seat of a Selonian

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

(1218–1226), and then came under the rule of the Livonian Order, which constructed fortifications there for the Advocate (german: Vogt) of the Order. These were destroyed by the Swedes in 1704, during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

, and only traces of the foundations are visible at the site today. Since the early 17th century, the ancient city of Sēlpils also existed.Das Inland : eine Wochenschrift für Liv-, Esth- und Curländische Geschichte, Geographie, Statistik und Litteratur. Jg. 1, Nr. 1 (1836)-Jg. 28, Nr. 52 (1863) Dorpat : C.A. Kluge, 1836-1863 nr. ; 25-32 cm. ISSN 1691-8428. The importance of Sēlpils as a trading center on the Daugava declined after the military devastation of the early 18th century.

History

Archeological findings

See also

References

Further reading